How to Use the Archive

Here's a quick look at what's in the AtariGuide listings:

	Combat 1977 Atari CX2601   The game title is followed by the copyright date, manufacturer, and model number.  The copyright date shown should be the earliest, but may not be. The game cartridge shown on each page may be one of many label variations made by the manufacturer.  Other labels will eventually be listed at the bottom of the page.
Joystick Controllers 2 Players (Sim) 27 Game Variations Rarity: C Auction Value: $0.25	The sidebar contains the following information: Type of controllers required Number of players and whether muliple players play simultaneously (directly against each other) or alternately (independent highest score) Game Variations: Number of game variations as selected by "Game Select" switch.  This is not a well defined statistic, as multiplayer options are often selected by other means. Rarity: Originally assigned by the "VGR list",  these symbols have become the standard and are used here with a few changes and additions here and there.  The symbols are defined as:      C: Common      U: Uncommon      R: Rare      ER: Extremely Rare      UR: Unbelievably Rare      UP: Prototype, can be found ONLY as a prototype cartridge (UR) Auction Value - I've added this simply because it's what everyone likes to know.  It's based on the last 2 years of activity on Ebay, and is intended only as a rough guide.  Be aware that the Atari game market is thinly traded, so actual sale prices can fluctuate by several hundred percent.  More on this topic
ROM File (.bin) Instructions (.htm)	Misc. files: ROM File - The game file can be downloaded and played on a PC or Macintosh with an Atari 2600 emulator.  You can find an emulator here.Technically you must own the game cartridge itself to legally store the ROM (as a backup). Instructions - The original game instructions have been reproduced in HTML format.  These are not the same and are generally more complete than other examples you might find on the web.  In most cases, the pictures and diagrams have not been included.  If you do not have the courier font installed on your computer, some of the tables may not line up correctly.  If a game was made by different manufacturers, the instructions for only the primary manufacturer will be included.

A short description of the game is provided, as well as information about the programming and collectability of the game, when such information is available.

This was the first game created for the Atari 2600, and a text-label version was included with the purchase of each new system, making this the most common 2600 game out there.  Every collector has at least 5 copies of this that he can't get rid of.  Despite this, it can be a pretty fun game.  All of the games are 2-player and involve one person shooting the other, whether it be in tanks, jets, or biplanes.  Later Atari systems were not sold with the text-label Combat cartridge, so the picture-label game could be purchased separately.  Evidently a number of people actually bought it.

Many games developed by one company were often released by other companies, legally or not.  This section provides links to other releases listed in the archive.

Also released as: Tank Plus by Sears Front Line by Zellers

A representative screenshot is shown when available.  Clicking on the image will zoom in by a factor of 4.